Healthier Coffee With These Four Tips

Choose Organic– Authority Nutrition points out that “coffee beans tend to be heavily sprayed with pesticides, herbicides and various toxins that were never intended for human consumption. For this reason, I recommend that you choose organic coffee whenever possible”.

Avoid Artificial Sweeteners– Most everyone has heard of the harmful effects of artificial sweeteners. Dr. Mercola, a well known osteopathic and alternative medicine physician, points out that “research over the last 30 years—including several large scale prospective cohort studies—have shown that artificial sweeteners stimulate appetite, increase cravings for carbs, and produce a variety of metabolic dysfunctions that promote fat storage and weight gain.” Truthfully, once you get in the habit of drinking coffee black or with cream, you will actually be able to enjoy the actual flavor or the brew rather than the additives.

Use Milk or REAL Cream– Have you looked at the ingredients in most coffee creamers? Believe it or not, many of them contain partially hydrogenated oils, “ a trans fat”. The FDA reports that “eating trans fat raises the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol in the blood. An elevated LDL blood cholesterol level can increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease”

Brew Your Coffee With A Paper Filter–healthyeating.sfgate.com reports that a 2007 Science Daily article suggests that “drinking five cups of unfiltered coffee every day for four weeks could increase cholesterol levels by 6 to 8 percent” Furthermore, coffee filters trap substances in coffee called diterpenes. These substances escape into your coffee grounds floating in the coffee or oily droplets floating on the surface. These compounds are known to block a cholesterol-regulating receptor in the intestines.Authority Nutrition reports that Brewing coffee with a paper filter removes diterpenes, but lets the caffeine and beneficial antioxidants pass through.

So start your morning by brewing a healthier cup of coffee. And you may want to consider these add-ins to try something new ( Dessert Coffee Flavor Add-Ins ). Enjoy your day!